Thin layer chromatography, referred to in laboratory parlance as TLC, has become an increasingly useful tool for detecting tiny amounts of drugs in specimens. The analysis procedure involves the transfer of specimens to be analyzed to a spot on the chromatography plate, drying the deposition, and thereafter activating plate with solvent to initiate the detectable migration patterns on the plate surface thus revealing the identity of the compounds or drugs contained in the specimen. In this fashion urine samples are screened for barbituates, opiates, amphetamines and other narcotics. Equipment and techniques heretofore available have made the screening of multiple samples both expensive and time-consuming. The present invention has for its objectives to provide a new design for an applicator for picking up, as by absorption or adsorption, a specimen to be analyzed and carrying it quickly to the TLC plate. Another objective of the invention is to provide a means for accommodating a large number of supporting applicators on one plate at precisely defined locations and for the controlled drying of both the deposited spots and the subsequent solvent saturation.